Tempe Little Theatre's The Odd Couple (Female Version) at The Tempe Performing Arts Center
(out of 
)Mark S.P. Turvin
(home office) (602) 912-0117
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@goldfishpublishers.com
Reviewed 5/26/00
(out of )It was a simple case of Neil Simon spoiling the nest. There's no way around it. Can you imagine Death of a Saleswoman? How about Hello, Donny!? While Albee balked at an all-male Virginia Woolf, Neil Simon saw no reason in 1985 not to revisit one of his greatest comedies, The Odd Couple, and gender-bend it with a Florence Unger and an Olive Madison. To what end? The only answers that seem possible are "Because I could," which is lame, and "Because I wanted money," which is depressing. Of course, community theatres with an endless supply of talented women and few men to fill the company jump at the chance to present this lesser version of a classic. It's up to the two actresses in the roles of Felix and Oscar redux to make this play work. Fortunately for Tempe Little Theatre, director Joy Bingham Strimple has done her best by casting newcomer Tara Furcini as the slovenly Olive, and especially Christine C. Essig as the persnickety Florence.
Ms. Strimple has layered this version with a good combination of high energy and subtlety. Admittedly, there are times when the full contingent of Trivial Pursuit-playing women are onstage that the show's pacing becomes quirky, as can be expected on a community theatre's opening night. However, when Ms. Furcini and Ms. Essig are going at each other one-on-one, or stumbling through their ill-fated date with the Spanish brothers, the evening soars.
Ms. Furcini does not appear at all like what one would expect from her character, which makes Olive's penchant for sports and littering a perfect contrast. While there are moments in the first act that she seems unsure of herself, when things get going in the second, she takes control of the action.
Not meaning to be insulting, this seems to be the perfect role for Ms. Essig. She seems less to be playing Florence than living her. Each of her careful, studied moves relays perfectly her character's overwhelming self-preoccupation. She shows a solid comic timing and a willingness to follow her companion's and the audience's leads. She makes this oft-played character her own, and it's a joy to watch.
As the Spanish brothers, Manolo and Jesus Costazuela, Pascal Brown and Mark Burkett are very funny. While it's stretching to say they look alike, their interaction with each other and the ladies makes us forget their dissimilar parentage. The four friends of the Trivial Pursuit game, Wendy Rosen, Marilyn Gibson, Lisa M. Howard, and Dawn M. Perryman are a mixed bag, with some solid performances, and some a bit underplayed and detached.
Sharon Gonwa's set design is simple and solid, and Tony Nelson's light design works well, though it could have been subtler during the date sequence.
No, this production doesn't make one forget the original, far superior version of the script, but taken on its own standards, and with the great work of the director and cast, it makes for an enjoyable evening of theatre.
Production Details:
The Odd Couple (Female Version)
by Neil Simon
Tempe Little Theatre
The Tempe Performing Arts Center, Tempe
(480) 350-8388
May 26th - June 10th, 2000